28 Oct 2010
A news conference to unveil the partnership is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 3
DALLAS–The organization Ticket to Reading Rewards and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation are partnering with Dallas ISD to motivate middle school students to read more. Southern Methodist University's Basketball Coach Matt Dougherty will visit Oliver Wendell Holmes Humanities/Communications Academy, 2001 E. Kiest Blvd., at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 3, to tip-off the Ticket to Reading Rewards Program to Dallas ISD middle school students.
Coach Dougherty will also talk to students about the importance of education, obtaining a college degree, and the impact that reading makes in achieving these goals.
Created in 2002 at Chicago Public Schools by current U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and with the aid of the NABC Foundation, the Ticket to Reading Rewards Program is a fun, motivational program that uses the cache of college basketball to challenge students to read up to 25 books outside the classroom. Rewards are achieved for each 5 books read and include: free annual subscription to Sports Illustrated for KIDS, cinch bags, medals, mini hoop-backboard-ball sets and water bottle with carabineer.
In addition to his motivational talk, Coach Dougherty has arranged for Dallas ISD students to attend an SMU basketball game. This will be the first visit to a college campus for many students.
The Ticket to Reading Rewards program has found that visiting a college campus can be instrumental in helping the student focus on college as a goal.
The top reading student in each of seven Dallas ISD participating middle schools will receive a special trophy from Ticket to Reading Rewards and the NABC Foundation. The schools will compete also for a top reading school trophy against other schools.
Other program participants include Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa and Denny Holman, member of the NABC Foundation Board. Holman is a graduate from Dallas ISD's Hillcrest High School and also from SMU, where he was part of the university's basketball team.
"Dallas ISD demonstrates the right approach for strengthening the critical one-on-one student and teacher relationship, an approach that empowers educators with the right information and leverages technology to enable improved student performance."